Cassandra hesitated only a moment before greed won.
“Fine,” she snapped. “One more night.”
It was all Marcus needed.
When Cassandra left, the door closing with a hollow finality, Marcus exhaled a breath he’d been holding for days.
Naomi moved closer and lowered her voice. “You don’t have to pretend with me,” she whispered. “Not forever.”
Marcus met her eyes and, for the first time, let a sliver of truth show in his expression.
“Tomorrow,” he said quietly. “Everything changes tomorrow.”
Naomi didn’t ask how. She didn’t demand answers. She simply nodded, trusting him with a faith he hadn’t earned, but desperately needed.
Outside, the night pressed against the windows.
Inside, Marcus felt the calm of a man who had reached the edge and decided not to fall.
A notary entered first: a neat woman with a leather briefcase and professional eyes. Behind her came Cassandra, wearing cream-colored silk like she was attending a wedding instead of a robbery.
Cassandra smiled with controlled confidence. “We’ll make this quick,” she said. “My husband isn’t well.”
Marcus lay still, eyes half-closed. The twins sat quietly on a nearby couch, held close by Naomi, their small hands tangled in her sleeves.
Cassandra didn’t like the sight of them together. She didn’t like anything she couldn’t control.
She approached the bed and placed the papers on a tray as if serving food. “Sign,” she said softly, for the notary’s benefit. “And you can rest.”
The documents were carefully designed.
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